Collinsville High School Uses Creative Approach To Teach Road Safety To Students

April is distracted driving awareness month, a nationwide effort to talk about the dangers of distracted driving to help eliminate deaths on the roads. One organization in Oklahoma is helping kids in Collinsville stay safe. 

Students went through several stations learning about different ways their distracted driving could effect them and others on the road.

"It's going to be really fun, we have a couple of rules, no shoving no pushing, and your hands cannot touch the chair," Collinsville High School senior, Madison Fountain, said introducing her station. 

Students at Collinsville High School spent part of their morning playing musical chairs, but it wasn't just a regular game. 

"What is the most effective safety device we have in our vehicles?" she asked, to which fellow students replied, "seatbelt."

Fountain taught her peers about the importance of wearing a seatbelt. She said it's important because she understands what can happen if you don't.

"I was in a car crash when I was 14 years old," she said. She said her family was hit by an intoxicated driver. 

The school has partnered with Oklahoma Challenge, a non-profit organization that teaches teenagers about road safety.

"A split second can really make the difference in their lives," said Nele Rogers, the associate director for the organization.

She said while the most obvious distraction for teens on the road is their phones, the most dangerous for them is having other teens in the car. 

"We know that they want to have friends with them but as novice drivers, they kind of need to bite off what they can chew at one time, right? And then add other elements as they go," Rogers said. 

Fountain hopes her peers will take the stations seriously, especially when hearing it from someone their age.

"When you go through it, you don't want it to happen to any other kid again, so that's why I hope that Oklahoma Challenge and us as kids get through to the other kids just to make sure that they're safe on the road," she said. 

It is illegal to call or text while driving in Oklahoma, and lawmakers are trying to take that a step further by making it illegal to even hold your phone while driving.

That amendment is making its way through the state house.